Since Before
by DancingWithPeacocks
Summary: AU. Arthur/Merlin. Merlin has been Arthur’s since day one.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Since Before (1/8)

Author: Solarbaby

Rating: G (for now)

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine.

Words: 300

Summary: Pre-slash. Merlin has been Arthur's since day one.

Spoilers/Warnings: AU!

Notes: This is my answer to number six of the au bunnies that callisa_mythol posted. While this is not my first fic, this is my first Merlin fic.

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It was only a few days after Arthur's third birthday that he first met Merlin. He glanced at the baby sitting beside his new nanny and frowned. From inside the bundle of blankets, Arthur could make out blue eyes and large ears and arms that were swinging around a rattle. A thoughtful look crossed his face (as thoughtful as a three year old could look) and grinned and nodded. Then he promptly went back to playing with Valiant, keeping an eye on the bundle.

When the prince heard the door close with a 'snap, click' he glanced up in time to see the nanny standing just out the door, talking to someone he couldn't see. He looked over to see Merlin still laying there, watching the two of them with something that resembled amusement.

The rattle was still being swung around in the air and then with a 'Bah!' Merlin let go of the toy, causing it to fly half-way across the room and smack Valiant in the head.

Arthur laughed as Valiant's face turned red and for a moment he thought the other kid was going to cry. But then he just grabbed the rattle off the floor and scrambled to his feet, causing Arthur to realize that he was going to throw it back at the baby.

"No!" Arthur yelled, grabbing the back of Valiant's shirt and giving it a yank, causing the young noble to crash to the ground and the rattle to roll away. "Mine!" He picked up the toy and glared at him, ambling over to Merlin.

At the yelling, the nanny came running back in the room, relaxing as she checked Valiant over.

With a pleased grin, Arthur plopped down beside Merlin (in a very princely fashion, of course) and proclaimed 'Mine!' once again.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Since Before (2/8)

Author: Solarbaby

Rating: G (for now)

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine.

Words: 243

Summary: Pre-slash. Merlin has been Arthur's since day one.

Spoilers/Warnings: None

Notes: Thanks everyone! Feedback makes my day brighter!

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Merlin was four when he first met Morgana and a six year-old Arthur was not pleased about it in the least. The young prince glared at the little girl as she proceeded to drag Merlin around the courtyard. This wasn't right. Merlin was his, his friend, just his, not Morgana's. But still she continued to do or say something that had the dark haired child giggling.

He stepped out onto the grass, pleased when Merlin to one look at him and grinned.

"Arthur, there you are," Morgana said as turned and looked at him, her dark braid swishing back and forth. "We were just going to play hide and seek."

Merlin laughed and nodded, looking very happy with the idea.

"I don't want to play hide and seek." He glared at the girl, completely missing the sad look that crossed his friend's face. A hand came up and wrapped around his shirt, tugging. Arthur glanced down and froze when he saw the tears in little Merlin's eyes.

"Play? Please?"

The blonde kid frowned, sitting down beside him. Immediately, Merlin's arms wrapped around him in a hug. He sighed and slipped his arm around his friend, choosing to ignore Morgana, who looked more knowing than a six year-old had any right looking. Merlin just looked up at him pleadingly, pouting slightly. "Fine," he muttered.

He grinned a little when he heard Merlin's ecstatic exclamation. Hide and seek was more fun with three people, anyways.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Since Before (3/8)

Author: Solarbaby

Rating: G (for now)

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine.

Words: 246

Summary: Pre-slash. Merlin has been Arthur's since day one.

Spoilers/Warnings: None

Notes: I swear it seems like these are getting smaller and smaller. But he next couple ones should get bigger. I hope.

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Arthur was eight when he first heard Merlin talk about Gwen. He would frown as his dark haired friend would prattle on about this blacksmith's daughter that he played with every time he went into town. But it wasn't until he was ten that he first met the girl.

His father didn't really like him leaving the castle, especially without guard, and Arthur himself really had no desire to meet her himself. Then Merlin looked up at him with those pleading blue eyes and (although he denied it) he caved. That was how he found himself glowering at the dark skinned girl as she hugged his Merlin.

Wasn't it enough that he had to share Merlin with Morgana when she visited?

But he wasn't pouting. Nope, not one bit. Princes didn't pout. Even when their best friend seemed more intent on paying some commoner more attention than him.

Merlin just looked over at him, rolled his eyes, and (to Arthur's satisfaction) detangled himself from Gwen's embrace. Arthur was fairly sure that he heard his friend mutter 'prat' as Merlin tugged him over and introduced him.

What little respect he might have had went up some when she looked slightly panicked and curtsied, refusing to meet his eyes. Feeling a bit more appeased, he tossed a possessive arm around Merlin's shoulder. Merlin just looked amused and shook his head.

"What?" he asked.

Merlin laughed and rolled his eyes again. "You're such a prat."

Gwen just looked horrified.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Since Before (4/8)

Author: Solarbaby

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine.

Words: 361

Summary: Slash. Merlin has been Arthur's since day one.

Spoilers/Warnings: Just a little underage kissing.

Notes: This one's a little longer. That's progress, right?

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The thing that a thirteen year-old Arthur never realized when he went to his father saying that he was far too old for nanny was that losing Hunith also meant that he'd get to spend a lot less time with Merlin. He stormed through the halls as he mulled this over, alone. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize he had come to the eleven year-old in question until he nearly tripped over him. "Watch it," he snapped as he caught himself and turned to face him. Then froze when he recognized the large ears and black hair, the face hidden buried in his hands. "Merlin?" His voice had softened perceptibly.

Merlin looked up at him, looking completely miserable. "Hey Arthur," he muttered, leaning back against the stone walls as the prince leaned down beside him.

"What's wrong?" he asked. When all he got was a shake of the head in reply he asked again. "What's wrong, Merlin?"

There were a few moments when the dark haired kid looked distinctly uncomfortable and Arthur felt sure he wasn't going to get an answer. Just as he was contemplating a way to force it out of his friend Merlin answered.

"Gwen tried to kiss me." Merlin turned red, burying his face in his hands again.

Arthur frowned, a dark expression crossing his face. "She forced you to kiss her?"

He shook his head. "She tried to kiss me. I didn't let her." His blush deepened. "I didn't want her to be my first kiss."

A strangely pleased look crossed the prince's face. Then Arthur leaned forward and pressed his lips against Merlin's. It was awkward and lacking technique and he felt his friend freeze up at the touch but the young prince couldn't help but think that it was perfect. He pulled back to see Merlin beet red and wide-eyed.

"What was that for?" Merlin's voice had risen a few octaves, causing Arthur to laugh.

"Now," he said as he leaned against the wall beside his friend, "you won't have to worry about Gwen being your first kiss. Because you're first kiss was mine."

He left 'just like the rest of you' unsaid.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Since Before (5/8)

Author: Solarbaby

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine.

Words: 648

Summary: Slash. Merlin has been Arthur's since day one.

Spoilers/Warnings: Kissing?

Notes: None really. But this one is longer than I had originally expected it to be.

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A sixteen year-old Arthur stumbled down the hallway, one hand grasping at the stone walls and the other pressing against the wound on his stomach. The world around him spun and he leaned against the wall, suddenly really dizzy. But somehow he managed to make it Gaius without anyone seeing him.

He threw open the door and fell to his knees to the ground. There was a yell and a set of arms wrapped around him. Arthur looked up into Merlin's blue eyes and offered a weak grin. All he got in reply was a panicked look and a yell for 'Gaius!'.

The next thing Arthur knew he was laying down on a table with Gaius checking over the wound and Merlin scrambling around for supplies. He was starting to feel woozy again and the physician was telling him to stay awake. A hand slipped through his and gave it a squeeze and he turned to see Merlin trying to give him a reassuring look. Unfortunately it looked for fearful than anything.

It was then that he realized just how bad the prognosis had to be.

Black began to dance around the edge of his vision and it was getting harder and harder to breath. There was a panicked yell of 'no!' and the hand wrapped around his own gripped tighter. The last thing he saw when before his world when black was Merlin's eyes flash gold.

When Arthur woke up he had to admit it was a pleasant surprise. He blinked and glanced around, realizing that he was no longer laying on that wooden table but was instead in his own bed. A groan escaped him as he sat up and his hand automatically went to the wound on his chest.

Except it was gone.

He froze momentarily before he shoved up his shirt to see unblemished skin. His fingers brushed over the carefully, thinking-- knowing that he had to be hallucinating. But he wasn't. There was nothing there, not even a scar. Could he have dreamt it? Arthur's head jerked up when he heard his door open and a familiar mop of black hair.

"Oh," Merlin stopped when he saw him and the door closed behind him with a 'snikt', "you're awake."

Arthur grinned at his friend as he stretched out on the bed. Of course, it had been a dream. Merlin's eyes had glowed _gold_ for god's sake. "Yeah, I…" he trailed off as he caught sight on a familiar shirt laying on the floor, with a dark crimson spot on it. Arthur was off the bed in a moment and right in front of Merlin, causing him to jerk backwards and hit the wall. "It wasn't a dream was it?"

"Well, uh…" Merlin replied, obviously flustered. "No."

"You're a sorcerer." It wasn't a question.

"Yes." Merlin barely had time to blink before Arthur had him pinned to the wall. "Arthur, wha…" He was cut off as the prince wrapped a hand around his head and crushed their mouths together. Merlin squirmed in his hold but Arthur just tightened his grip, not giving him any leeway.

Arthur pulled back, forcing Merlin to look at him. "Don't you ever lie to me again!" Merlin just nodded, a slightly fearful look on his face. It gave him pause as he realized that Merlin was afraid of him. Merlin had never been scared on him before and he didn't like it. Not one bit.

He loosened his hold on the sorcerer and wrapped his arms around him. Merlin froze in his arms before gradually relaxing into the hold. "Just… trust me, okay? You don't have to worry. I'll keep you safe."

His friend was a sorcerer. It didn't matter. This was the same Merlin that he had grown up with, played with, spent his free time with.

Merlin may have been a sorcerer. But he was Arthur's sorcerer.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Since Before (6/8)

Author: Solarbaby

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine.

Words: 379

Summary: Slash. Merlin has been Arthur's since day one.

Spoilers/Warnings: None

Notes: It's getting close to the end. That's sad…

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The first thing that Arthur thought when a sixteen year-old Merlin busted into his room in the middle of the night was if tossing him a cell for the rest of the night would have been overkill. Then Merlin was right there, beside his bed and tugging at his covers. He reached out, wrapped a hand around his friend's wrist and tugged.

Merlin yelped and crashed to the mattress, an arm wrapping around his waist. "Let me go!" He struggled only to have the arm tighten and a face nuzzle into his neck.

"Why?"

Arthur got a babbling rant in reply; something about dreams and Morgana (which he really didn't want to hear about) but it was when he said the word dragon that his interest spiked. "Did you say just that there was a dragon under the castle?"

Roughly half an hour later he found himself following an exuberant Merlin down a dark hallway. When he reached the opening he barely stopped his jaw from dropping. And the tale that the dragon spun had him thinking that maybe he had knocked his head too hard during training. Talking about 'being a great king' and 'two sides of the same coin' and he was pretty sure he heard something about a teapot as well and Arthur was sure he would have found it fascinating if he wasn't so tired.

During all this, Merlin was practically bouncing. He was watching the prince was a bright expression which turned amused when Arthur turned and rested his head on the sorcerer's shoulder.

"It is far too late for this," he muttered as they headed back to Arthur's room. A reached up, patted him on the head and Arthur got the sinking feeling that Merlin was patronizing him. So he did the only think he could think of.

Merlin jerked away in reply and stared. "Did you just pinch my butt?"

"Maybe," Arthur replied, before reaching out and pulling the dark haired teen to his side. He leaned down and nipped at Merlin's neck, getting a moan in response. "See, you belong with me. Even the dragon knew it."

The look he got from Merlin was nothing short of incredulous before an eye roll took its place. "As if I ever doubted it."


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Since Before (7/8)

Author: Solarbaby

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine.

Words: 459

Summary: Slash. Merlin has been Arthur's since day one.

Spoilers/Warnings: None

Notes: Only one more left.

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"You're bloody insane."

Arthur looked affronted by the eighteen year-old Merlin's accusation. But any effect it may have had was immediately destroyed by the smirk that came across his face. Merlin just glared at him from his position leaning against the wall. "Oh, come on, Merlin! It's only for a week."

"Really? And would you care to enlighten me just how it is you seem to be missing your current manservant?" The sorcerer asked.

"Um," the prince started, looking vaguely embarrassed. "No?"

Merlin's eyes widened as a thought struck him. "Oh my god! You killed him, didn't you? I kept telling you that you were going to end up killing you if you didn't stop working him so much and you finally have!" His arms flailed about in an action that was either trying to convey _you're insane and I currently fear for my life _or _I have complete faith in you and agree with your decision._ Arthur preferred to think it was the later.

"I didn't kill him," he cut the sorcerer off in mid-rant. "It was decided that it was in his best interest to take some time off."

Realization appeared on his friends face before the cackling began. "You- you- you broke your manservant." Then Merlin had the gall to fall to the floor, laughing.

Arthur slid off of his chair and knelt beside his friend, poking him in the side only to get a yelp and a shove. "Gah!" he exclaimed as he crashed to the ground. There were times that he wished Merlin gave him the respect his position deserved. But those times where fleeting and far in between he thought as Merlin proceeded to lean over him and press their lips together.

The blond haired royal immediately took control and flipped them over, letting his weight settle comfortably over the dark haired sorcerer. It never failed to please him just how responsive Merlin was, coming alive under his touch. There was a gasp when Arthur drug his fingers under the shirt only for it to turn into a moan when he pulled back.

"Tease. You're just looking for a reason to keep me around so you can grope me," Merlin gasped out, not failing to notice that his prince didn't deny it. It took a few minutes to catch his breath before he continued. "You know I'll be the worst manservant there is. I'm a doctor's apprentice, not a maid."

Arthur just shrugged, smirking as Merlin proceeded to give you a speculative look. He already put up with that bloody owl that the sorcerer insisted on keeping (called him Archimedes) and that possessed teapot that always spouted steam at him anytime he walked by. How much worse would he have to deal with?


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Since Before (8/8)

Author: Solarbaby

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine.

Words: 474

Summary: Slash. Merlin has been Arthur's since day one.

Spoilers/Warnings: None

Notes: It's over now. I'm sad. Remember, feedback = love.

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It was mere months after Arthur's twenty-third birthday that he was named king. Even as the crown was placed on his head, his eyes were scanning the crown, finding Merlin watching from the other side of the room. Merlin returned the look with a reassuring smile and the now king found himself unconsciously relaxing.

During the whole coronation party he found himself surrounded by noble after noble, giving allegiance and regrets for his father's sudden death. Arthur only caught sight of Merlin a few times during the night. He smiled politely as another one of the court women flirted with him. Then she stopped mid-sentence and got a faraway look in her eyes before blinking and walking off.

A frown crossed his face and he glanced around, realizing that there was no longer the large crowd around him. They had all trailed off, seemingly absorbed in their own conversations. He had an inkling as to what was going on, as he stepped through the party, but it wasn't until an arm wrapped around his waist and a hand was clamped over his mouth, hauling him into a darkened corner, did his suspicions get confirmed. The hold was let go and he spun around.

Merlin just grinned at him, his golden eyes fading back to blue.

"I wish you wouldn't put spells on my court," Arthur replied, rolling his eyes when Merlin pouted.

But that pout morphed into another grin. "Then how would we get any time alone?" There was a smirk and the next thing Merlin knew, he was against the wall with very large blond pressing against him.

"Mine," he hissed as he pinned the sorcerer to the wall. "All mine." One hand came up and slid around Merlin's neck, caressing the skin, before he leaned down and placing a firm bite below the ear.

Merlin nodded, tilting his head back to give Arthur more room to play. "Always." There was a firm lick up the neck.

His arms tightened around his lover as Merlin began to squirm. "No. Mine." Arthur nuzzled into the dark hair.

"Arthur… Arthur!" Merlin pulled back, breathing heavily and trying to right his clothes. "The spell is already beginning to wear off. You have to get back out there."

Arthur turned around to see the rest of the party starting to look around, almost confused. He sighed and shook his head at Merlin. Such a tease.

Merlin rolled his eyes. "I'm not a tease."

The king's eyes narrowed at his lover, wondering for half a second if Merlin really could read minds. But the thought passed as quickly as it came.

The sorcerer gave him a soft smile and a peak on the cheek. "Long live the king," he whispered, reverently, and it sounded like magic coming from his tongue.

Then Merlin pushed him back into the crowd.


End file.
